Vintage Set Needs

Saturday, January 27, 2018

1968 American Oil ('Mr.') Tom Matte


In my never-ending quest for Baltimore Colts items I somehow came across this oddball item (or half an item) and recently added it to the Colts binder. It's from 1968 and is an American Oil (aka Amoco) Mr. & Mrs. NFL game piece. The idea was to buy gas, get a game piece, match the two halves and win a car or a cash prize. I'm just a bit put out by the fact that the Matte pair only netted you 4 bits. 

BTW...Amoco was behind one of the strangest NFL promos ever...the 1966 NFL Stamps contest. same basic idea...gas station visits netted you a stamp that went on a game card. I blogged about that one in 2016

Captain Obvious is here to tell you that the other half of this was a photo of Mrs. Matte (or more likely the whole Matte clan). I've been on the lookout for one of those but so far haven't had any luck. 


It measures 2 1/8" by a 3 1/2" more or less. Here it is with a standard card for perspective.


I found this page with a detailed look at the set. Some of the 'Mrs.' photos are a hoot. Well worth a peek. If you stumble upon a Jim Grabowski or Mrs. Joe Morrison game piece Amoco owes you a 1969 Ford. Ask for a Mustang.

3 comments:

  1. Cool oddball! I can only hope that Mrs. Tom Matte has hair that's even taller than Mrs. Billy Lothridge's hair!

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  2. Interesting concept for a set - perfect for the upcoming valentine holiday!

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